Wondering Why It's Called...Rancho 25??

Wondering why it's called Rancho 25??

If you were...it's a pretty good question.

 Last December The Farmer and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary.

 We were together for about 3 years before we married so we have been together for a

good amount of time...and it has been an adventure. For the most part it has been a good one...

but we have also had our share of sadness and struggle.

 That's life, right?

 

So as December neared, The Farmer asked me how I would like to celebrate

 this milestone of ours. I told him that I just wanted a wedding ring. 

 Last Summer as we were traveling home from a wonderful family vacation, 

our car was broken into while we stopped for dinner and most everything was stolen. 

 My wedding rings were stolen.

 It was heartbreaking. 

 So when I told The Farmer that all I wanted was a wedding ring...he totally understood. 

Now The Farmer isn't really a jewelry kind of guy. 

 Me on the other hand... I love a pretty adornment;) Don't all women??! 

 So, went went to dinner, he had researched rings, found a few that he thought

I might like and even had some photos to show me. 

 Now...this isn't like The Farmer so it was a very tender and emotional thing for me. 

 I just couldn't believe that he was so committed to the idea of a new wedding ring.

   

 Well, a couple of weeks passed and one afternoon The Farmer came home very excited.

 With a big smile on his face he told he that he had just bought a piece of land and 

he was soooo happy with it! He said it was going to be great and then he 

went on to tell me ALL the plans he had for that land. The more he talked 

the more my heart sank...and when he could see that I wasn't feeling

 his same joy...he asked me what was wrong. I said..."what about my ring???" 

and then he said..."the ring...oooohhhhhh....the ring....ooooohhhhh...." 

And then he got it! He remembered. 

 It was pretty funny actually...but it made me sad too;) 

 So he invited me to go on a ride to see this new piece of land...he was really sure 

that I would fall in love with it right away and I would most likely decide 

that this was a much better purchase than the ring.

 

So off we went. 

We arrived...I know the area well. We actually own another piece of land close by, 

so I began to understand why this purchase thrilled The Farmer so.

 As we drove, The Farmer said things like..."this is way better than a ring...don't you think?"

 hoping I would agree I am sure. He must have said it 10 times.

 He told me about all the plans he had for this spot and how it 

was going to be a great addition to our life;)

   

 The previous owners had great plans to use it as a little retreat and so they built 

a small house on it. They even dug a large hole in front of the house preparing

 it for a swimming hole. There were some corrals for cows and a beautiful 

view of our area...it's on a little hill. While we drove around the property I told 

The Farmer that I had the perfect name for it and excitedly 

he asked me what it was...hoping I had caught his vision and he 

was forgiven for forgetting about my ring. I announced..

."we will call it Rancho 25...

since this is how were are celebrating 25 years of sheer wedded bliss!" 

 And it stuck.

 

And thus it is. Rancho 25 (Viente Cinco) 

Everyone knows the story...our workers think it is really funny... 

and within the last year the 25 has become a sweet place for us.

 It is our project at the moment. Many changes have been made in the last few months...

great changes. One of which was we changed the names on the title. 

 When we went to the Notary to make the change we noticed something pretty special.

 The previous owners had never changed the name from the original owner...

it simply cost too much money to do so, so they had left it as they had purchased it.

 The Farmer decided that he would put the property in the name of the Aggie Boy...

and so when he was in town we went to sign the papers. 

 As he signed The Farmer noticed that the 25 was in the name of his father. 

It was a sweet moment. So the ownership of the land transferred from

 Grandfather to Grandson of which they share a name. It thrilled the Aggie Boy...

and made The Farmer all that much happier with his purchase.

 And I might add...my heart softened a bit too;)

 

Now it is the winter home of our horses...who could care less if we visit them;)

 They are so happy there!

 

It is also the home of our dear Violet the Longhorn...

who runs to The Farmer's truck when we visit the ranch. 

 She also stands by the gate hoping we will take her home to her pasture

 close to our house.

 I don't think she is liking the 25 so much! ;)

   

 These guys LOVE a trip to the 25! 

They even smile when we take them...;) 

So there it is...the story of why we call it Ranch 25. 

We love it! It is fun! I am glad we have it.... 

But, I am still hoping for a wedding ring.... 

Sigh....

What's Left Behind...

It is bean harvest in our area right now. 

 Historically, we should have had the first freeze of the season about two weeks ago.

 As we have "late" beans, we are grateful that the freeze has been late.

 On our way to Rancho 25 today we passed a farm where the bean

 harvest is complete...at least according to the farmer who owns the farm. 

 For others the harvest is just beginning.

 

This is what a professional Gleaner looks like. 

 He along with several other people come to the farms that have been mechanically

 harvested and glean what has been left behind by the large equipment.

 It was really fun to see how he was going about his harvest. 

 He walked through the "harvested" field finding bunches of beans that had 

been overlooked. He then made a pile of the dried plants. He had laid out a 

small tarp, he then placed the dried bean plants on top of the tarp. 

 With a large, well used stick he began beating the 

dried plants to loosen the beans from their pods.

 

Once the plants had been sufficiently beaten...he lifted the dried plants to find beans. 

 We stopped to talk to him...I asked if I might take his picture. He agreed,

 and as I did I asked him questions about his life and how he harvested 

and what other things he harvested. He explained that he had made a life

 from what had been left behind. Some of what he had gleaned he would used 

to feed his family, and the rest he would sell. It was a pretty great thing to watch.

 As The Farmer and I drove away I said something like...

these kind of people are becoming scarce. That in another 8-10 years there probably

 wouldn't be anyone left that would be willing to work this hard to make a living.

 The Farmer agreed but also added...that if things really got bad enough in the world...

we would all be willing to beat a few bean plants to have something to eat.

 I think he is probably right.

 For now, it was a lesson to me that if you look really close...

you might just find something of great value...if you are willing to work for it!